I tried Ninja's new BlendBoss and it stands out from other blenders for one unique reason
I don't know about you, but with summer on the way, those hot days always have me craving a cool iced drink, and one of my favourite go-tos is a delicious fruit smoothie. So there's perhaps no better time for the new Ninja BlendBoss to have launched. Ninja has made a name for itself in the world of kitchen appliances, particularly thanks to its air fryer range, and now they're bolstering their offering with perhaps one of the most eye-catching blenders I've ever seen (and spoiler alert: this blender isn't just pretty to look at). The BlendBoss was first released in the US last year and has now made its way across the pond to the UK.
The first thing you'll notice about the BlendBoss is how it looks. The blender comes in four fun colourways, plus a more subdued grey option. These include Blue Raspberry, a combination of teals and light blues; Watermelon Bubblegum, which mixes pinks and greens; Lavender Lemonade, a blend of purples, lilacs and yellows; and Cyberspace, a palette of navy and powder blue. There's also Stone, which is arguably the more versatile option with its mix of greys and beiges. This single-serve blender comes with a Stanley cup-style tumbler on top, which fits onto the rounded motorised base.
The BlendBoss comes with one tumbler, lid and straw, so you can remove it straight from the blender and take it on the go with you. However, if you want any more cups, straws, or lids, you'll have to buy them separately (though they are available on the Argos website).
The Ninja BlendBoss is a single-serve blender designed mainly for drinks, frozen drinks and blending ice. Measuring 18.2cm x 16.9cm x 32.7cm, it's a fairly standard size and won't take up loads of room on your counter, though it's less portable than some others on the market. The tumbler compartment, however, is transportable. It twists off from the blender lid and comes with a travel lid featuring a lockable spout to reduce the risk of spills and leaks. It also has a straw that slots into the drink compartment and a handle for carrying.
The blender has three automatic settings that tailor the blend to what's in your cup. These include Smoothie, Ice Crush and Blend, plus there's a pulse setting. The appliance has a powerful 1100-watt motor base (which is pretty powerful considering the average, everyday kitchen blender usually sits somewhere between 500 and 1,000 watts).
I used the BlendBoss to make a range of smoothies, both with frozen and fresh ingredients, as well as protein shakes. I considered the size of the appliance, how easy it is to navigate and how intuitive the accessories were to use. I also tested the ability of the tumbler as a travel mug, considering its size, functionality and whether it leaked.
Additionally, I compared it to my old unbranded blender and factored in the price.
I then considered how easy it was to clean and store away. And, of course, I thought about how it looked in my kitchen and the colour options available.
The Ninja BlendBoss arrives boxed with all of its accessories. It doesn't come with a huge instruction manual; you don't really need one, as it's pretty obvious how everything fits together, and each mode is clearly labelled on the front of the blender. That said, the box does include some instructions, and there's also a small slip explaining how to use each function along with a few recommendations. It's a good idea to wash the tumbler, straw and lids before using them, which I did.
Immediately, the first thing I noticed was how the blender looks. It's unusual and certainly an upgrade from my old blender, which was a very boring grey. I got the BlendBoss in the Watermelon Bubblegum shade, which I really liked, although admittedly the colour won't be for everyone, especially if you have a very specific kitchen aesthetic and were hoping to keep the BlendBoss out on the countertop. I plan to store mine in the cupboard and only get it out when it's in use. The good news is it isn't too big to store away, although the base is a bit larger and heavier than my previous blender (it weighs 2.6kg). Once I turned it on and considered the strength of its motor, though, that made perfect sense. The base has suction cups on the bottom to keep it steady on the countertop, and it plugs into an electrical outlet for power.
I first used the BlendBoss to make my go-to smoothie (spinach, banana, frozen berries, a little almond milk and some water, if you're interested).
The tumbler has measurements on the side in both millilitres and ounces, with a max fill line of 650ml. The tumbler itself holds 710ml, which leaves a little extra space once everything is blended. Once you've finished blending, you can easily unclip the tumbler and blade from the base and swap it for the leak-proof lid and straw for drinking on the go.
I filled the tumbler with the ingredients and then screwed on the bladed lid (which Ninja calls the CrushBlade). The lid has six blades, and they are sharp, so you do need to be careful not to accidentally nick yourself - but that sharpness is also part of what makes this machine so powerful.
It's straightforward to pop it onto the motorised base and lock it in place. You just need to make sure the silver dot on the base lines up with the one on the CrushBlade before twisting it to lock together.
For my smoothie, I used the Smoothie IQ function and admittedly got a bit of a shock when it buzzed into life. The 1100-watt motor became very apparent, and I was surprised by just how powerful this blender is. I could suddenly see why the suction cups were necessary - without them, it might have shot across the kitchen. I was really impressed by how quickly it cut through everything, turning raw ingredients into a properly blended smoothie in under a minute. There are also four handy lights on the front of the machine that flash to show how far through the process the blender is. While it is loud, it's still much quieter than my old blender, which also used to get stuck on lumps, so I'd have to stop it and shuffle everything around before starting again. The BlendBoss blends in less than half the time of my old machine and cuts through ingredients with no trouble.
Removing the tumbler from the blender base is easy: just twist it back in the other direction to unlock it. The CrushBlade lid stays firmly in place, so there's no risk of accidentally unscrewing it and spilling your smoothie everywhere.
The final result was perfectly smooth with no unwanted lumps or chunks.
With that in mind, I then wanted to see how it handled more frozen than fresh ingredients, so I used a frozen smoothie mix with a little almond milk to see if that would make things trickier. For this, I used the Ice Crush function to blast through the frozen chunks. The powerful motor proved its strength again, and the results were just as quick and just as smooth.
My partner is a big fan of protein shakes, especially after a long run, so this gave me the perfect opportunity to test out the Blend IQ function (which is also good for juices). We combined protein powder, almond milk and some chunks of ice and set it going. It took just 60 seconds, but felt like it blitzed through even easier than the smoothie, probably because the ingredients were mainly liquid and powder (aside from the ice), and my partner was more than happy with the results. He said there were no unwanted lumps or dusty residue.
I have read a couple of reviews saying people have also used the blender to make hummus. Ninja doesn't advertise it as good for blending dips, but given how easily it whizzes through frozen chunks of ice and fruit, I can understand why people might try it for hummus and other dips, too. For full transparency, though, this wasn't part of our testing.
In terms of functionality, it's very easy to go from blending straight to using the tumbler as a cup. The portable lid locks on easily, and there's a lid on the spout which clicks into place but can be opened to drink. There's also a thick straw - the same green colour as the lid - which slots into the drinking hole and makes sipping your smoothie on the go easy. For me, the main downside is that the tumbler is quite bulky. With its shape and handle, it feels more like a Stanley cup, which makes it a bit big to slip into a bag unless you carry a fairly large one every day.
I tested how leak-proof the lid is and was pleased to find it didn't leak in a bag while I walked around or when I tipped the tumbler upside down. However, if the lockable spout were accidentally pressed while in a bag, it could potentially unlock (though, admittedly, that seems fairly unlikely). The handle on the side is handy for holding, but again adds to the bulk, especially compared to some other portable blenders like the Nutribullet, which has a more traditional water-bottle shape. If that's more what you're after, Ninja does have the Ninja Blast Cordless Portable blender, which might be more up your street, and as a bonus, it's currently on sale from £50 down to £39.99.
With that in mind, at £129.99, this certainly isn't the cheapest option out there, even from Ninja. But the price is reflected in the blender's power and quality.
Finally, it was time to clean up, perhaps my least favourite part of any kitchen task. The good news is that the bladed cap, tumbler, straw and travel lid are all dishwasher safe. The bad news is that when I tried them in the dishwasher, I wasn't entirely happy with the results. Most items came out clean, but the corners inside the tumbler still seemed to have some residue left in them (which may just be a reflection of my dishwasher's power).
So for me, handwashing felt like the easiest option for the tumbler. I just used a scrubber to reach into the tighter corners inside.
If you're looking for a blender that gets the job done, the BlendBoss is a really good option in my opinion. Yes, it's a little on the pricey side, and there are cheaper options out there, but the quality, power and results from this appliance ran circles around my old unbranded blender. It blends quickly and doesn't take multiple attempts to achieve the right consistency. For smoothies in particular, it's a winner, promising a smooth, enjoyable drink in under a minute.
It also gets extra points from me for the design. It's eye-catching and different from others on the market and, perhaps I'm just a sucker for a cute aesthetic, but I love the choice of colours. They add a little bit of fun to the appliance and help it stand out from the crowd.
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